I finished my third/fourth semester of college, passed my EMT practicals, and got myself a better boyfriend than I could dream of having. He treats me like a princess and might very well be the best person to come into my life in a long time. Now I have four months off, and said boyfriend will be up in the great state of Idaho starting his own college career. Over the next four months, I'll take my written EMT exam and hopefully get myself hired on with an Ambulance company. I'll continue to work at the movie theater in the interim, and I think I'll start writing again.
Part of me can't believe the semester is over. It was such a crazy one, but I'm going to really miss Idaho. Heads almost rolled during finals week though, that's for sure. I'm glad to have a break from school. That being said, I'm also glad to be done driving. For my latest trick, I drove from Provo to home...alone. I stayed the night with the family somewhere kind of in the middle, but still. I'm glad to be home.
I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas!
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
In Which I Learn to Lead
I am not a leader.
At least, I was never much of one. I spent years following orders and doing my best not to ruffle any feathers. In college, I have been put into a few leadership positions, nothing consequential. Each semester teaches me some new fundamental aspect of being human, though, like taking care of myself, and learning to trust.
This semester, I have learned to lead. It started with my calling as the second counselor in my RS presidency. I was given jurisdiction of sorts to lead over a few specific committees, where my specific job was to lead. It took some getting used to, but I eventually got the hang of conducting meetings, giving assignments, and receiving input from those around me.
The learning continued in my classes. In some, I was content to ride in the passenger seat and let the more ambitious take the reigns. That is not allowed in EMT. Can you imagine going into cardiac arrest, and the two techs responding are going back and forth with:
"You can do compressions."
"No, no, you can do them."
"Well, would you like to hook up the AED?"
"Only if you don't want to."
Five minutes later, nothing is done, and you're dead. That's bad. To prevent such terrible occurrences, we'd occasionally be assigned to lead when doing skills. No one acted without the leader's say-so, and if something was done incorrectly, it was the leader's fault.
I remember one particular lab day when we were learning to do scene assessments. Colton, the Paramedic student instructing the skill, asked for someone to start. I deferred, saying that I really wasn't as strong with that assessment type. He calmly looked me in the eyes and said, "then you're leading". The Paramedic students pushed the EMT students, and sometimes it felt like a lot, but they really helped me learn and grow.
It wasn't until this past Saturday that I realized how much I'd changed. My class was participating in a Mock Scenario. My group of eight suited up, prepared our jump bags, and drove the ambulances to the local high school, where the results of a fight had been staged. We wheel the cots in, but my teacher stops us before we get to the scenario room. We needed leaders assigned: one for each of the two groups of four, and then an Incident Commander, or IC, who was to lead the entire group. Two kids snapped up the team leader job, but no one was volunteering for the IC. Behind me, someone speaks up.
"I nominate Katie."
No. I was already a nervous wreck. Everyone knew that. So they wanted to put me in charge?
Suddenly everyone was looking at me, and before I knew it, I was donning the white IC vest. My job was to examine each of the six patients, determine who was highest priority for transport, help everyone with their patients, and, well, lead. I coordinated the movement of tables from on top of patients, fetched supplies, triaged, and helped students move the patients onto backboards and cots and then carry those cots up and down stairs. Did I mention that those patients were our Paramedic student instructors? Scary. The hardest part for me was determining which patients were most critical, and organizing transportation for six patients in two ambulances. Somehow, I managed to do it.
My teacher critiqued us after, and my classmates made sure I knew they thought I did well. It was incredible, and the experience was incomparable, but the biggest thing I learned:
I can lead.
This semester, I have learned to lead. It started with my calling as the second counselor in my RS presidency. I was given jurisdiction of sorts to lead over a few specific committees, where my specific job was to lead. It took some getting used to, but I eventually got the hang of conducting meetings, giving assignments, and receiving input from those around me.
The learning continued in my classes. In some, I was content to ride in the passenger seat and let the more ambitious take the reigns. That is not allowed in EMT. Can you imagine going into cardiac arrest, and the two techs responding are going back and forth with:
"You can do compressions."
"No, no, you can do them."
"Well, would you like to hook up the AED?"
"Only if you don't want to."
Five minutes later, nothing is done, and you're dead. That's bad. To prevent such terrible occurrences, we'd occasionally be assigned to lead when doing skills. No one acted without the leader's say-so, and if something was done incorrectly, it was the leader's fault.
I remember one particular lab day when we were learning to do scene assessments. Colton, the Paramedic student instructing the skill, asked for someone to start. I deferred, saying that I really wasn't as strong with that assessment type. He calmly looked me in the eyes and said, "then you're leading". The Paramedic students pushed the EMT students, and sometimes it felt like a lot, but they really helped me learn and grow.
It wasn't until this past Saturday that I realized how much I'd changed. My class was participating in a Mock Scenario. My group of eight suited up, prepared our jump bags, and drove the ambulances to the local high school, where the results of a fight had been staged. We wheel the cots in, but my teacher stops us before we get to the scenario room. We needed leaders assigned: one for each of the two groups of four, and then an Incident Commander, or IC, who was to lead the entire group. Two kids snapped up the team leader job, but no one was volunteering for the IC. Behind me, someone speaks up.
"I nominate Katie."
No. I was already a nervous wreck. Everyone knew that. So they wanted to put me in charge?
Suddenly everyone was looking at me, and before I knew it, I was donning the white IC vest. My job was to examine each of the six patients, determine who was highest priority for transport, help everyone with their patients, and, well, lead. I coordinated the movement of tables from on top of patients, fetched supplies, triaged, and helped students move the patients onto backboards and cots and then carry those cots up and down stairs. Did I mention that those patients were our Paramedic student instructors? Scary. The hardest part for me was determining which patients were most critical, and organizing transportation for six patients in two ambulances. Somehow, I managed to do it.
My teacher critiqued us after, and my classmates made sure I knew they thought I did well. It was incredible, and the experience was incomparable, but the biggest thing I learned:
I can lead.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
In Which I Pretend to be in Control
If we're being perfectly honest, we'd admit to ourselves that the majority of the time we only look like we know what we're doing. Maybe I'm generalizing too much. If I'm being perfectly honest, the majority of the time, I only look like I know what I'm doing.
Case Study #1: Codename Blindie (yes, she gave me permission to make it her codename) was working at the school market, at which point she sustained second degree burns to her right hand due to prolonged exposure to boiling water. At first, I was thinking okay, I'll check it when I stop by between classes. Each text made the case sound more urgent, though. In about 3.6 minutes, I was at Blindie's side, fishing for gauze in my backpack and admiring the fleshy blisters. My train of thought was something like: okay, she ran it under cool water for about a minute...probably should do more, but whatever. She put burn gel on it...red flag. Wait, that's a red flag, right? Nothing on burns...I think. Crud, we don't cover burns until next week. Okay, think. Cool water, keep it dry. We need more gauze. I convinced Blindie to leave her register and help me find a decent first aid kit. We wandered upstairs, found the general manager, and followed him through the kitchen to the most beat-up, out-of-date kit I've ever seen in a professional establishment. The first thing he fishes out: burn cream. He tries to hand it to Blindie, and I emphatically shake my head. "No cream." GM does a double take. It should be understood that at the time, I was in full EMT uniform, pants, polo, scissors and all. "Oh, okay," he says, as if unsure of trusting me or not. I quickly scan the container. "No gauze rolls...so...lots of that gauze pad size, that tape, and that tape." Please sound confident. Make it sound like you know exactly what you need. Please let me be right! "I'll bring the leftovers back." Out Blindie and I go to the MC Commons, where I begin wrapping each finger with gauze squares and taping them as gently as possible. I gave Blindie strict orders to take it easy and hydrate. I stayed close to finish homework, since I was ditching class anyway, and then went to my EMT lab. After that, I immediately scoured my textbook for correct answers. To my elation, I did everything as I should have.
Case Study #2: I developed an infection last week that required daily trips to Community Care for wound management. Every day I'd walk into that office, smile at the nurses, and wait to be taken back. They'd call me back to room 1, the room especially for body fluids and trauma. Here we go again. "Ready?" Yep. Nope. Holy goodness! Oh my goodness this hurts so bad. Oh my gosh I'm going to die. "Doing alright?" Yep. ARGH! Okay, I think they're done. *breathes* Oh crudmuffins nope they're not done. Finally, peace. "Alright, you're good to go until tomorrow. You alright?" Yep! Thank you so much! Just give me a sec, I'm not ready to move yet. I've realized that if I go in there every day and scream my head off for the entire thirty seconds they're causing me excruciating pain, they're going to hate seeing me, and nothing's going to make the doctor want to be nice. So I smile, pretend I don't want to smack the PA's hand away whenever he comes near, and try to make each visit as pleasant as I can. But KT, that's not your job. THEY should be making YOU comfortable. Well, yeah, but I've worked healthcare too. I love seeing happy patients. It makes the job suck so much less. Besides, every time I suffer through those thirty seconds, I wind up feeling so much better afterwards. It's brilliant.
Case Study #3: "Hey KT!" Roommate/friend/family member exclaims, "so I went to the doctor/was scouring webmd today, and he/it said that I have [insert medical condition here]. What does that even mean?" -or- "Hey KT! So whenever I [insert action], my [body part] [does something it probably shouldn't]. What do I do?" Okay, think. That's a respiratory problem/sign of allergic reaction/muscular reaction. Step 1: Do I have any prior knowledge of the topic? If yes, share. Step 2: Has is been covered in class? If yes, scour brain for details, and share. Step 3: Is it something you learned to do in lab? If yes, proceed to practice skill on the sick/injured questioner. Step 4: Are you lost? Textbook. Still lost? Webmd. STILL lost? Consult roommates codenamed Devin (future RN) and Mamabear (future MA). Step 5: Totally out of your league? Send to Urgent Care/Call 911. So far, my system has not failed me.
I realize that all three of my case studies were medical-y things, but to be perfectly honest, those are what filled my last week and a half. The same holds true in all aspects of my life, though, be it Capstone or Family Foundations classes, real life or labs. Fake it 'til you make it, a friend used to tell me. But what about being real? Well, are you capable of being real? Will anyone benefit from you being 100% honest right now? Or would it be better for you to be confident on the outside? Well, would you walk into a job interview and tell the interviewer that you were really worried about those pictures on facebook that you didn't want them to see? Or walk into a test and through your hands in the air after three questions because you don't think you know anything? No. You fake it.
I'm certainly not encouraging anyone to go out and lie. Don't become conmen and hustlers, capable of getting anything out of everyone by sheer will of your charisma (no matter how fun it is). Just be confident. Be yourself. Be what is needed, when it is needed. The world might need my maternal instincts tomorrow, and my shoddy knowledge of Sign Language the day after, so that's what I'm going to give.
Wow, long post. Oops.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Midterm Report!
So I thought I'd go over things I've learned so far, since midterms have just passed. These things range from the simple to the complex, that's for sure.
1. The right ventricle pumps to the lungs.
2. Everyone gets oxygen.
3. The fire alarm in my apartment is super sensitive.
4. Life is going to throw really tough decisions my way later on. I need to decide how I'll handle them now.
5. Sometimes, running to California on Friday and back on Sunday is totally worth it.
6. Occasionally, every apartment should have a meeting to discuss problems and find solutions.
7. I don't need to be an insomniac. It's kind of fun going to bed before midnight sometimes.
8. The best roommates are the ones who stick with you, even when you're at your worst.
9. Baking my own bread is tastier and cheaper than buying it every week. Plus, it's way fun.
10. Sometimes, fixing a problem hurts worse than the problem itself. Once you get it fixed, you can finally start to heal, and even if there's some pain or scarring left over, it will always be better than before.
Some of these lessons, I've definitely had to learn the hard way. Like when something has been bothering you all week, and when you finally go to the doctor he asks why you weren't in a week ago. Or when you think you're insane and crazy, and you're thinking screw butterflies, there are stampeding elephants in my tummy, but you end up having the best time ever. Or when the fire alarm goes off because of the steam from someone's curling iron, and you think nothing of it, and the firemen come over while you're in the shower.
Regardless, I've learned a lot since September, and am excited to continue learning and growing. Simply put, I love where I am in life right now. I wouldn't change a thing.
1. The right ventricle pumps to the lungs.
2. Everyone gets oxygen.
3. The fire alarm in my apartment is super sensitive.
4. Life is going to throw really tough decisions my way later on. I need to decide how I'll handle them now.
5. Sometimes, running to California on Friday and back on Sunday is totally worth it.
 |
| See? |
6. Occasionally, every apartment should have a meeting to discuss problems and find solutions.
7. I don't need to be an insomniac. It's kind of fun going to bed before midnight sometimes.
8. The best roommates are the ones who stick with you, even when you're at your worst.
9. Baking my own bread is tastier and cheaper than buying it every week. Plus, it's way fun.
10. Sometimes, fixing a problem hurts worse than the problem itself. Once you get it fixed, you can finally start to heal, and even if there's some pain or scarring left over, it will always be better than before.
Some of these lessons, I've definitely had to learn the hard way. Like when something has been bothering you all week, and when you finally go to the doctor he asks why you weren't in a week ago. Or when you think you're insane and crazy, and you're thinking screw butterflies, there are stampeding elephants in my tummy, but you end up having the best time ever. Or when the fire alarm goes off because of the steam from someone's curling iron, and you think nothing of it, and the firemen come over while you're in the shower.
Regardless, I've learned a lot since September, and am excited to continue learning and growing. Simply put, I love where I am in life right now. I wouldn't change a thing.
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